Chester County on the Edge of the First "World" War
"While it could be termed frontier during the late 1720s, the founding of Lancaster in 1730 and York in 1741 demonstrates that westward expansion out the Lancaster Road continued. But Pennsylvania was not the only conduit for westward migration. In 1749 King George II conveyed 200,000 acres of land to the Virginia Co., a group of wealthy investors including Geo. Washington’s elder brother Lawrence. Although barely 21, George Washington is dispatched to the 'Ohio Country' in today’s Western Pennsylvania to survey the land and inform the French who had been trading in the territory for decades that they must withdraw and honor British land claims. The French reject this. In 1754 a second armed expedition is launched and an engagement takes place near Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The French surrender on May 28 but some are then massacred including a prominent French officer named Joseph de Jumonville. This engagement is said to start the first world war involving Europe and Asia."
- Mark Ashton, Chester County: A Modern History
Land Conflicts Produces Friction in the Back Country
In July 1755 1,300 British forces were defeated in Braddock, PA. 450 killed.
In November Native Americans attacked a Moravian mission in Lehighton, PA killing eleven.
As early as 1728 women and children were kidnapped and murdered by Natives just five miles north of Pottstown.
.
Meanwhile in Chester County...
No Militia was formed.
No Fort was erected.
Something Needs to be Done
"Chester County’s magistrate William Moore informed the government in Philadelphia that 2,000 residents of the county had 'associated' to provide for their own protection against the Indians and that they would march to Philadelphia if necessary to secure support of the government. Among those was the St. Vincent and Puke’s Land [Pikeland] Association formed on May 8, 1756. Its stated purpose was to 'defend our lives, wives, children, liberty and our most holy religion.'"
- Mark Ashton, Chester County: A Modern History
Britain Dispatches General John Forbes
General John Forbes grew up at the Pittencrieff House in Scotland. After Gen. Wm. Braddock's force was annihilated at the Battle of Mononghela, Forbes was promoted to Brigadier general, and was sent to Philadelphia to take charge of 6,000 provincial militias from Pennsylvania and Virginia led by 26-year-old Colonel George Washington. Their objective was to capture Fort Duquesne, the French's stronghold at today's Pittsburgh.
His expedition began in the Spring 1758 and took the British Army through Chester County along the Lancaster Road. While in Chester County, he stayed at two taverns: the Blue Ball Inn at Daylesford and Admiral Warren below Malvern. The Ship Inn west of Downingtown was a prominent collection point for troops and supplies destined for the Ohio Valley.
"The Forbes expedition is best remembered for cutting a road west from Carlisle to Pittsburgh and for the Battle of Fort Duquesne in September, 1758. Forbes was not actually part of that battle as he was dying from stomach cancer throughout the expedition. Although the French had repelled an advance assault on their newly built fort, the size of the British army signaled to the French it was time to abandon their outpost; so they burned it and retreated." Forbes would die 6 months after the battle and he is buried in the chancel of Philadelphia's Christ Church.
Bibliography
"Brig. General John Forbes." Clan Forbes Society. Accessed March 1, 2025. https://www.clan-forbes.org/people/brig.-general-john-forbes.